Blockchain & Cybersecurity: What You Need to Know

Blockchain & Cybersecurity: What You Need to Know

If you’ve had any involvement in data management, or even just browsed tech-related news over the past few years, you’ve heard the term “blockchain.” In fact, even some people who aren’t familiar with the term have at least encountered Bitcoin — the popular cryptocurrency that uses blockchain as its accounting method.

Anyone plugged into emerging technology trends, however, should be plenty acquainted with both blockchain and Bitcoin, as they’re significant topics that find their way into numerous discussions.

The ubiquitous references to blockchain in tech circles are in no small part because of its widespread applicability and disruptive nature. As a distributed, decentralized method of peer-to-peer data sharing, blockchain has the potential to revolutionize networking across various industries, and it has received vigorous attention from the banking industry, among others.

The cybersecurity industry is turning its attention toward blockchain, too. Analysts have been hard at work evaluating the benefits and drawbacks of the technology for organizational data sharing. And some businesses — particularly tech startups — have been quick to embrace the method.

Decentralization: Rather than relying on uploads to a central server, blockchain distributes data across a peer-to-peer network. There is no need to trust a third party for the security of data. The data also is backed up across the entire network, protecting against data loss.

Baked-in encryption: All transactions occurring on a blockchain are encrypted. And because of duplication on the network, it’s easy to verify that nothing in the data has been altered. Ultimately, this also means a blockchain is difficult to hack.

Privacy: The technology is not limited to public networks and easily can be deployed in a private environment requiring authentication.

Experts advise that anyone considering a blockchain deployment remember that network size is critical to the method’s effectiveness, because of its distributed nature. It also can impact overhead because of its bandwidth requirements.

Still, if you are considering implementing blockchain within your organization, Lunarline can help ensure you’re setting your network up to be secure.Contact us today and learn how we can lend a hand.